Erecting machine for wall boards



AF. J. F|FFNER ERECTING MACHINE Foa WALL BOARDS Filed Dec. 51, 1925 2sheets-sheet 1 31a/neuro@ Allg. 9

1,639,962 F. .l PFlF-FNER ERECTING MACHINE FOR WALL BOARDS Aug. z3,1921.

numltof Patented A ug. 23, 1927.

`UNITED STATES rATENT OFFICE.

FRANK J. PFIFFNER, OF JOLIET, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JAYELLIOTT, F MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

ERECTING MACHINE FOR \VALL BOARDS.

Application led December 31, 1925. Serial No. 78,634.

My invention relates to improvements in erecting machines forwall-boards, and the object of my improvement is to furnish a deviceel'fectire for adj ustably supporting sheathing of this character. suchas plasterboards for ceilings, so that the plates thereot' may be easilyand accurately litted in place and may bethen secured rapidly to thesupporting timbers therefor.

This object I have accomplished by the means which are hereinafterdescribed and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, itbeing understood that changes in the precise embodiment of inven tionherein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed Withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention.

In said drawings, Fig. 1 is a front elevation of my 4device, with partsbroken away, the dotted lines indicating the projected position of theadjustable table. Fig. l2 is an end elevation of said device, and Fig. 3

is a'plan thereof.

Wall boards, particularly those constructed of plaster, are bot-h bulkyand heavy, be-

.inginconvenient to mount and fasten upon a wall or ceiling beams. Withmy device, both operations may be eiected quickly and easily by a'singleworkman, with a consequent economy of labor and time.

The device comprises a transportable supporting structure, and anadjustable table for the wall-board slidably reciprocable therein, withmeans for lifting or lowering the table, and means for adjustablyinclining the table. l

The supporting structure comprises two spaced pairs of standards 1mounted xedly between base-blocks 2 on plates 4 and secured by bolts 3.Boards 6 are mounted upon the base-blocks to front and rear of thestandards 1. The interspaces of the base-blocks and of the pairs ofstandards 1 afford slideways for vertically reciprocable table slides 32and leg-members 12 connected to the slides by means of bolts 11 withoutthe standards 1. The members 12 support a. tiltably adjustable table-topmade up of rigidly jointed longitudinal parallel trans? versely spacedbars 14 and divided sectional cross-bars 15, one set of the latterhaving a single upwardly extending rail or bar 16 secured upon the outerfront ends thereof as a wall-board abutment.

cured between said bars.

the standard 12, and whereby a fastening bolt and compression nut 20 and21 may be used to hold and fasten the table halves horizontal or in anyadjusted tilted position, or with the halves of the table collapsed forany purpose, so that a plate of Wall-board 42 upon the table-top andabutting the abutment rail 16 may be apposed toceiling rafters whetherthe latter are horizontal or in any way slopingly arranged. Cross-blocks33 are arranged to abut opposite faces of each set of slides 32 andstandards 1 and secured by bolts 34 to the slides, to hold the slides invertical positions in the slideways between the standards.

The transversely spaced standards 1 are rigidly connected at their topsat both front and jrear by longitudinal beams 7, crossbeams 8 beingconnected between the beams 7 abutting upon the inner faces of thestandards 1, the beams 7 being secured by bolts 13. On the inner medialfaces of the cross-beams 8 are fixed staples in which are hung the eyesof pulley-blocks 22 and 23 respectively over whose sheaves are reevedshort cables 24 and 25, their inner ends being secured to opposite partsof a winding drum 26 to wind thereon. The other ends of said cables aresecured to the inner ends of headed bolts 11 near the lower ends of theslides 32.

Longitudinal bars 9 connect the standards 1 on their front and rearfaces and are secured thereto by bolts 10 and have thereon medialbearings 29 which seat a rotatable shaft 27' on which said winding-drumis se- On the same shaft is also fixed a ratchet-wheel 30 whose teethare engaged by a pawl 31 of the gravity type rockingly mounted on ario'id standard 29 rising from the upper membber of the bearing-box 29.The shaft 27 has an end crank 28 rovided with a handle.

eferring to said Fig. 2, the numeral 35 denotes a pair of spaced armsWhose like ends nearest the standards 1 are pivoted thereto to swing upand down at 39. The outer ends of these arms are rigidl connected bymeans .of a plank 36 thereon which serves as an elevated footing for themachine operator, while placin and fastening overhead wall-boards. heplank has near each end depending blocks 37 to which a pair of legs 40are pivotally connected at 38. It will be seen that this footing iscollapsible, b swinging the legs 40 past each other, an then the armsmay be swung downwardly to lie vertically against their inner faces infront of standards 1 on which they are ivoted.

A sheet of wall-boar 42 having been placed upon the table-top and havingone longitudinal edge abutting upon the rail abutment 16, the crank 28may be used to rotate the winding-drum 26 to wind up the two cables 24and 25 to thereby elevate the table to a desired height, the pawl 31holding the. table at the desired height in thus keeping the plate 42 incontact with rafters or other supports to which it may be nailed -v by aworkman without other help. The apparatus may be then shifted to anotherlocation, when the slides 32 have been lowered.

The tilting of the table-top adjustably permits it to hold a plate 42against sloping rafters at different inclinations.

The device as a Whole is simple, strong' claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

An erecting machine for wall boards, comprising in combina-tion, a basalsupport, longitudinally spaced pairs of transversely spaced standardsfixed upon said support, a

slide-beam slidably mounted between each pair of standards, a connectingdevice between the upper ends of the standards, pulleys supported on theend parts of said connecting device, spaced bars connecting the middleparts of said standards, a winding drum rotatably mounted on and betweensaid bars, a ratchet-Wheel mounted on one end of said drum, a pawlrockably mounted upon one of said bars to movably engage teeth of saidratchet-Wheel under the iniuence of gra-yity, cables attached to saidwinding drum and directed oppositely therefrom around said pulleys andterminally fastened to the lowerl parts of said slidebeams, oppositelyprojecting arms adjust ably pivoted on the upper parts of saidslide-beams, means for holding said arms releasably in differentpositions, and tabletop sections secured in parallel upon said arms toswing up and down, one section having an upwardly directed'rib along itsouter longitudinal margin to serve as a stop thereon for wall boardsupported upon the sections.

In testimony whereof I affix m signature.

FRANK J. PF FFN ER.

